WinXP 64bit only loads in 32bit

[Lenichee]

I have looked and searched all kinds of criteria and have not found a solution to my exact problem. I also tried many things so I'll try to list them all if I can remember them all correctly..

VirtualBox and then windows installed fine (windows fine both times)
Then initially I was unable to connect to the internet. I fixed that by changing the in Network Setting the adapter type to PCnet-FAST III (AM79C973) attached to NAT and that fixed it.
Then I went to get busy installing all the programs that I want to use the first being RPG Maker however it wouldn't install. Stating that it could only be installed in 64bit. I checked the screen resolution setting in windows and I was stuck with 32bit being the highest setting available.
After searching around I came across how I need VT-x and to have it enabled. I can't remember how because my brain is feeling mushy feeling at this point but I found that I have it and that it is on.
I also booted into safe mode and installed the direct X plugin thingy. As well as checked the boxes for VT-x/AMD-V, Nested Paging, PAE/NX.
It shows up as windows 64bit that is installed in the VirtualBox manager as well.

VirtualBox version 4.3.12

First my host is a Mac Book (64bit) (Fully updated!)
OS X version 10.9.4
Processor 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB

(I changed memory setting higher trying to get it to work..)
The Guest is Windows XP Home Edition (64bit)
Service Pack 2
System
Base Memory: 2048 MB
Acceleration:VT-x/AMD-V, Nested Paging, PAE/NX
Display
Video Memory: 64 MB
Acceleration: 2D Video
Storage
Controller:
IDE Primary Master: Windows XP.vdi (Normal, 10.00GB)
IDE Secondary Master: [CD/DVD] VBoxGuestAdditions.iso (61.77MB)
Network
Adapter 1: PCnet-FAST III (NAT)

I hope that's enough info. I'm trying to think if there is anything else that would be helpful to fix this.

[mpack]

Uh... a 32bit/64bit screen resolution has nothing whatever to do with the CPU or guest OS being 32bit or 64bit.

The screen should always be 32bits.

If you want to run a 64bit guest application then you need to install a 64bit guest OS. I suggest you browse Wikipedia for a while first, or discuss with colleagues, to learn about these concepts.

In the meantime, are you certain that you installed a 64bit version of Windows XP Home Edition? I ask because XP-64bit was relatively rare, and I didn't know that a home edition of it even existed. Also, the error message you quote means that the app installer saw a 32bit OS. IMHO it is quite possible that you created a 64-bit capable VM recipe, and then installed a 32bit guest OS into it. Come to think of it, that's exactly what I've got on all my current physical PCs.

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The bittedness of a screen resolution refers to the number of bits per pixel. 32bits per pixel allows for true color, 8 bits for each channel (RGB), hence 2^24 different colors, plus an additional 8 bit channel for transparency.

The bittedness of a CPU refers to the "native" maximum size of numbers for integer calculations, i.e. a maximum integer value of 2^64-1 instead of 2^32-1. It generally also implies that data is transferred to/from memory in 64bit chunks. A 64bit CPU can still handle 32bit numbers, and vice versa, but each CPU is most efficient when working with its native "word length". One consequence of a larger native wordlength is that you can (more efficiently) address larger chunks of memory, e.g. removing the 4GB RAM segment limit of 32bit CPUs.

[loukingjr]

the only 64bit version was Windows XP Professional x64.

[Lenichee]

Ah thank you and sorry about the dumb question. I don't have anyone that's available to talk about computer things with so it's more of a google search for me. ^_^ I feel more motivated to learn about the inter-workings of programing now so as to not miss things like that and accomplish more. ^_^;

[loukingjr]

Welcome and it wasn't a dumb question.